A Spanish government official Friday offered the first apology to Catalans injured by police during their outlawed independence vote as the sides showed tentative signs of seeking an exit from the crisis. In Spain's deepest political crisis in decades, Catalan leaders had threatened to declare independence unilaterally and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vowed to stop them, rejecting calls for mediation.
The worsening standoff raised fears of further unrest in the northeastern region, a tourist-friendly land of 7.5 million people that accounts for a fifth of Spain's economy. But Friday saw the first signs the sides may be willing to step back from the brink in a political conflict that threatens to destabilise Europe.
After days of ill-tempered rhetoric, the central government said it regretted last Sunday's injuries and suggested Catalonia should hold a regional election to settle the crisis. Catalan government minister Santi Vila, a close of ally of regional president Carles Puigdemont, meanwhile told broadcaster Rac1 that his side could consider a "ceasefire" in the dispute, to avoid a further crackdown by Madrid.
Puigdemont postponed an appearance in the regional parliament at which some leaders were hoping for a declaration of independence, a spokesman said. Spain's central government apologised on behalf of police to people hurt in last Sunday's referendum disturbances.
"I can do nothing but regret it, apologise on behalf of the officers who intervened," said the government's representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo. "I am very sad, very sorry, we deeply regret that we have arrived at this situation, it has been very hard, everything that we have experienced and seen these past few days," he said.
Central government spokesman Ignacio Mendez de Vigo also said later he "regretted" the injuries. "It would be good to start mending this fracture... through regional elections," he told a news conference. In Madrid meanwhile, Catalonia's police chief and two prominent separatist leaders avoided being remanded in custody at a court hearing Friday over sedition accusations.
The court summons raised tensions, but despite the gravity of the accusations the court did not issue a custodial order that could have further escalated the dispute. Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, leaders of Catalonia's two biggest pro-independence civil groups, and regional police chief Josep Lluis Trapero walked free from the preliminary hearing at the National Court in Madrid.
A court official told AFP the judge had ordered no custody or other cautionary measures against them pending an investigation into the accusations. The two civil leaders were accused of sedition for their role in unrest during protests in Barcelona last month.
Trapero's force was accused of failing to rein in the protesters. "We are convinced that sooner rather than later the Spanish state will have to sit down for a dialogue" with the Catalan regional government, Cuixart said. The government says it will not join in any talks or accept mediation until the Catalans abandon their independence drive.